1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an improvement on a hand tool which would be used by an individual to move and grade various materials such as sand, loam, gravel, stone or wet concrete. The Hand Grader is designed so as to ease the degree of exertion by the user in moving the product and grading the product. The tool has a handle which is approximately 5 feet long and 11/8 inch in diameter which is grasped by the user. The head of the tool consists of one piece of steel bent at an angle of 140.degree. inclusive. The handle is attached to the surface of one of the faces in proximity to the bend where the faces meet so that the handle forms an angle greater than 90.degree. with the face to which it is attached and forms an angle less than 50.degree. to the other face. The width of the head may range between 6 inches to 20 inches wide for different applications.
The tool is used to move or spread materials such as sand, loam, gravel, stone or wet concrete over the ground in a garden or to extract concrete from a form in concrete construction. The tool due to its design carries its own grade meaning it does not submerge into the material but remains level. This eliminates the need of the user to apply pressure upwardly or downwardly on the tool to carry the materials to grade. The force of the user can then be applied to pull the material towards the user and to accomplish the work being done as opposed to applying pressure in an upward or downward direction.
2. Description of Related Art
Currently in the field of art there are hoes and tools known as "Kum-a-Longs" which are used to move sand, loam, gravel or wet cement as needed in a garden or on a construction site. Hoes are designed so that the head of the hoe and specifically the face submerges within the material to be moved. This is useful for some applications however it is not useful for grading the material over a surface area. Hoe type tools are nothing more than an "ax blade" turned at right angles to the handle. They are made to "chop" and force the blade into the working surface. This blade was never angled to allow it to pull itself into the product without excess downward pressure. As far as construction of the "hoe" type tools, just having the handle off-set so far from the working edge constitutes weak construction.
"Kum-a-Longs" generally consist of a handle similar to that of the Hand Grader attached to a steel head which is arched or bent in an arc having a radius of approximately eight inches. The "Kum-a-Longs" in that fashion slides over the top of the concrete or other material and thus is not useful in grading. Also, one cannot pick up a mass of wet concrete on a "Kum-a-Long" and expect that it is maintained within the face of the tool. "Kum-a-Longs" as they are referred to in the cement trade, are nothing more than a glorified, wide hoe. It is difficult to strengthen a single piece of metal when it is required to be narrow in width and long in length, without including either a turned edge for strength or increasing the thickness of the material. What they have done to regain the needed strength is to curve the metal much as a snow plow blade is curved. The only problem with this is that it leaves a curved surface with which to tamp with and as anyone would agree this would be better flat. Those in the business of placing concrete with a "Kum-a-Long" as they are constructed to date complain that if they hook into something like wire rebar, "wet-leads", etc. with the end of the blade, the blade bends and after repeated bends the blade becomes fatigued and weak in that area and will eventually break. The inventor has over the years welded and straightened many "Kum-a-Longs" and has seen a need for a new tool design to overcome the shortcomings of the current art in this area. Most handles in the standard "Kum-a-Longs" are attached by driving them into a blind hole. When removing a broken handle, it requires drilling in order to extract the broken stub, an extremely time-consuming task.
Therefore the inventor has identified a need for a tool which can be used to pull and lift wet concrete and other material and which can be used to tamp the edges of a concrete pour. As well, the angled edge of the Hand Grader can be used as a float on a concrete pour.